Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Football Governance

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: I am repeating the following Written Ministerial Statement made today in the other place by my Honourable Friend, the Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society, Nigel Huddleston MP:I wish to inform the House that the Government has today published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan Led Review of Football Governance.The Government’s response focuses on responding to the Review’s ten strategic recommendations. We accept or support all of the ten strategic recommendations in our response that sets out the Government’s planned reform of football. The sum total of our plans amount to significant reform with an independent regulator focused on financial sustainability, and a strengthened approach to ownership of football clubs and their governance.The Government builds on the case for reform set out in the Review. We believe that there are two key problems in English football. Firstly, there is significant risk of financial failure among clubs, and secondly, the cultural heritage of English football is at risk of harm. We have identified that these two problems have three root causes: the structure and dynamics of the market create incentives for financial overreach, inadequate corporate governance often affords unchecked decision-making power and the existing regulation is ineffective. Without reform these financial failures will persist, and the economic and social costs would be substantial. Therefore, the Government believes that there is a need to intervene in football to secure the future of the game.The issues highlighted in the Review are complex and our reforms need detailed and considered analysis to ensure the sustainability of the sector long-term. As a result, we have committed to publish a White Paper in the summer which will set out further details on the implementation of reform.In response to the strategic recommendations, the Government response sets out a vision for the reform of English football:An independent regulator for football will be established. The response sets out the proposed objective, scope and powers of the regulator, and that it would oversee a licensing regime of the top five leagues.The regulator will have a focus on financial regulation. The financial regulation regime will take a holistic approach, bringing together the Owners’ and Directors’ Test, corporate governance and equality, diversity and inclusion as part of one regime.The current Owners’ and Directors’ tests do not go far enough in assessing suitability for ownership of clubs. The response sets out that the tests should be strengthened by enhancing due diligence to check source of funds and the strength of business and financial plans, and that an integrity style test will be introduced. The forthcoming White Paper will provide further details on how the enhanced tests will work, and what will be in scope of the integrity test.We believe that football needs a new approach to corporate governance, proposing a new model to be designed and overseen by the regulator. Football also needs to take further action on diversity and inclusion through their own plans for action. Further consideration will be given to ensure the model is proportionate and appropriate for football.We agree with the Review that supporters should be properly consulted by clubs, but we propose to share details in the White Paper on a more flexible approach to supporter engagement by making a minimum level of fan engagement a condition of the regulator licence. We have also committed to share details in the White Paper on the regulator implementing a licence condition which requires clubs to have a mechanism for fans to consent to changes to key items of club heritage.On financial distributions in the football pyramid, we agree that more could be done by the Premier League to enhance financial flows through the wider football pyramid, and ideally this would be through a football-led solution. We have committed to revisit whether backstop powers are needed for the regulator to implement a new distribution agreement, if a solution is not found before the White Paper.We agree with the Review on the importance of football clubs to local communities, and set out that the position on ‘existing provisions’ (which applies to football stadiums) in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will be retained in the revised NPPF, in conjunction with Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities colleagues.Finally, in response to the Review’s recommendations regarding alcohol and football, we are committing to review The Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985, in conjunction with Home Office colleagues.The Government is fully committed to reforming football governance to enable a long-term, sustainable future for the game. Accepting or supporting all of the strategic recommendations within the Review is the next step to do exactly this, and will represent a wholesale change in the way football is governed in England.We recognise the scale of change that is required, and the impact that our proposals will have within football and more broadly. That is why we are setting a strategic direction in reforming football for the better, but taking some time to consider the details of exactly how we will enact these changes. We will set out even more information on the precise implementation of our reforms in a White Paper which we will publish this summer, and are committing to implementing the reforms as soon as possible.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

UK Shared Prosperity Fund update

Lord Greenhalgh: My Hon. Friend, the Minister for Levelling Up - Local Government, Constitution and the Union (Neil O’Brien) on 19 April 2022 made the following Written Ministerial Statement:Last week, my department announced the launch of the £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund, publishing a prospectus that sets out the Fund’s objectives, priorities and local allocations, as well as how the Fund will be delivered. This starts the process of places across the country developing local plans to deliver the Fund.It represents the culmination of concerted effort and joint working across government, with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and local partners across the UK. It is a key component on our journey to transform the country, set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, and our central mission to level up and spread opportunity and prosperity to all of our communities.We are investing in domestic priorities and targeting funding where it is needed most: building pride in place; supporting high quality skills training; supporting pay, employment and productivity growth; and increasing life chances.The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a marked shift from the EU structural funds it succeeds. Under the EU, organisations had to go through a lengthy application process. Indeed, the process between first application and approval could easily exceed twelve months. The UK employed hundreds of civil servants to facilitate this, with projects only getting paid in arrears. The EU had strict, rigid requirements on what money could and could not be spent on, but our approach is much more flexible, empowering local people who know best.In contrast, UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides a three-year allocation to local authorities, with the goal of approving investment plans within three months. The Fund will be much more flexible and locally led, freeing communities from the bureaucratic, rigid and complex processes of the EU Structural Funds. Bureaucracy will be slashed, and there will be far more discretion over what money is spent on. EU requirements for match funding, which impacted poorer places, will be abolished.Instead of regional agencies, funding decisions will be made by elected leaders in local government, with input from local members of parliament and local businesses and voluntary groups. The Fund will lead to visible, tangible improvements to the places where people work and live, alongside real investment in people’s skills, giving communities up and down the UK more reasons to be proud of their area.All areas of the UK are receiving an allocation from the Fund, with even the smallest places receiving at least £1 million, recognising that even the most affluent parts of the UK contain pockets of deprivation and need support. Funding will also match in real terms what was previously spent through the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and each Local Enterprise Partnership area of England, meeting the UK Government’s commitment to match EU funding. We are ramping up UK Shared Prosperity Fund funding as EU funds tail off and when that funding ends, UK Shared Prosperity Fund will match the annual average spending of EU funds reaching around £1.5 billion per year, which is more generous than the average EU funding budget, which is around £1.3 billion average per year.As funding is confirmed for three financial years – 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 – this will facilitate places’ planning and allow the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to act as a predictable baseline element of local growth funding. It comes alongside other funding to level up the UK, including the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund and £150m Community Ownership Fund and builds on the £200 million for UK Community Renewal Fund projects that we announced last year.A key part of the Fund is Multiply, the adult numeracy programme. With up to £559 million in funding available, this programme will offer local and national support for people to improve their numeracy skills - equipping adults across the UK with the skills they need to progress in life. It is being led by the Department for Education in England and funding will be distributed to the Greater London Authority, all Mayoral Combined Authorities, and upper tier/unitary authorities outside of these areas in England. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Multiply will be delivered alongside wider programmes of UK Shared Prosperity Fund activity.Further information about the Fund and the investment planning process, as well as local allocations, is included in the UK Shared Prosperity Fund Prospectus and the Multiply Prospectus, both of which have now been published.The next step is for each place to work with the private sector, civil society and others, as well as the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to develop a local investment plan. This should set out how they will target their funding on local priorities, against measurable goals. Once this is in place and agreed with the UK Government, they can unlock three years of investment.This new fund is a clear manifestation of our commitment to level up all of the UK. Alongside historic levels of investment confirmed through Spending Review 21, it will make a significant contribution to overcoming geographic disparities; spreading opportunity, boosting employment, wages and life chances right across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Department for Work and Pensions

Completing the Move to Universal Credit by 2024

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: My Right Honourable Friend, The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse Coffey MP) has made the following Written Statement.In 2012, Parliament voted to end legacy benefits and replace them with a single modern benefit system, Universal Credit (UC). The UC system stood up to the challenges of the pandemic and ensured support was provided for a significant number of new claimants with varying needs across the country. As the rest of government and society returns to business as usual, it is appropriate to resume the process to complete the move to UC by 2024.There are around 2.6 million households receiving legacy benefits and tax credits who need to move across to UC. The natural migration process, where claimants experience a change in circumstances and consequently move to UC, has largely continued throughout the last two years. The voluntary migration process has also been available throughout. We are taking steps to increase people’s awareness of the fact that they could be better off financially if they were receiving Universal Credit, including through the publication of our document, Completing the Move to Universal Credit, today on GOV.UK. I will place copies in the libraries of both Houses.In that document, we set out our analysis which estimates that 1.4 million (55%) of those on legacy benefits or tax credits would receive a higher entitlement on UC than on legacy benefits and would benefit from moving voluntarily, rather than waiting for a managed migration. This is particularly the case for tax credit claimants, with our analysis estimating around two-thirds of them would benefit. That is why we have included information on UC in this year’s renewal forms for current tax credit recipients. It is important for current recipients to satisfy themselves that they would be better off on UC using independent benefit calculators before moving voluntarily, as once the claim is made, recipients cannot revert to tax credits or legacy benefits, nor receive any transitional protection payments. More information is included in the document.For those claimants who do not choose to move and have not migrated naturally, we will manage their migration to UC. Parliament committed to providing transitional financial protection to those who are moved onto UC through the managed migration process. Whilst many households will be better off financially on UC, for those with a lower calculated award in UC than in their legacy benefits, transitional protection will be provided for eligible households. This means they will see no difference in their entitlement at the point they are moved to UC, provided there is no change in their circumstances during the migration process.Before the pandemic, the department had started testing processes for managed migration in a pilot based in Harrogate. In 2020, the pilot was stopped to handle the significant increase in new claims for UC resulting from the pandemic. During this pilot there was proactive engagement with 80 people, 38 of these were moved to UC. 35 claimants were better off and only three people required transitional protection. The remainder of moves were not completed before the pilot was stopped. This pilot only involved claimants that the department had an existing relationship with. No claimants on Working Tax Credits were approached directly to commence a Move to UC.The pilot provided valuable insights. First, while claimants will likely look for support from organisations they already know, such as a local authority, we are no longer assuming that all engagement needs to be managed by that organisation. Second, claimants can and will move autonomously, but some may need more support, particularly on digital access. The pandemic reinforced the importance of claimants being able to manage their own claims online and the strength of this system. Third, claimants can successfully choose a date for their claim, factoring in other income and expenditure points during the month. Finally, the pilot allowed the department to understand the processes and tools required to complete a managed move, such as those needed to calculate transitional protection.As I have said to the House previously, we are not resuming the Harrogate pilot. We have learned from that experience and our wider experience over the last two years. As we complete the Move to UC, I am absolutely committed to making this a responsible and safe transition. Next month, we will be starting a multi-site approach across the country with a small number of claimants, approximately five hundred initially, being brought into the mandatory migration process. We will continue to develop our processes and systems to scale the migration process and complete by 2024.We are resuming under existing regulations, though I intend to bring forward to Parliament amendments to the UC Transitional Provisions Regulations, following their consideration by the Social Security Advisory Committee.Universal Credit is a dynamic welfare system fit for the 21st century. As part of our levelling up agenda to support the British public, we will continue to help people into work and progress in work, taking advantage of the recent reduction in the taper rate and boost to work allowances.